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8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no one was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels should be completed.

Till the end of this period none can enter the temple; clearly intimating that religion has not yet attained to perfect purity. A further reformation from the errors of popery is probably to take place.

The first four Seals, the four Trumpets, and the four Vials, each taken together, form an entire picture of the then state of the Christian world; but the four Vials, like the four Trumpets, differ from the Seals as to the order in which the events are related. In each Seal the change of colour extends over the whole horse; and as these changes allude to the state of Christianity, each being universal, they must of course be successive; and appear to have followed each other at intervals of about half a century. But the Trumpets, and like them the Vials, extend each of them to parts only of the physical world; and consequently, referring only to particular parts of the moral world, there is no necessity for their being successive; but different parts may be affected simultaneously. Accordingly, the events to which they allude are not to be looked for in chronological succession, but will be found to be coexistent; the effects of each Vial extending through the period of all the four; and this period seems like that of the four Seals, and the four Trumpets, to comprise about two centuries; that is, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century.

Under the former part of this period the harvest is included, and under the latter the vintage; but the vintage seems to engross the larger share, the harvest being quickly despatched, as the manner in which it is foretold expresses: "And the angel cast his sickle upon the earth, and it was reaped." Thus suddenly was the reformation brought about. It is not however to be supposed that a change so sudden could be complete; some remains of former errors would unavoidably be left. And the reformation, in fact, can only be considered as having begun at this time. The more enlightened protestants freely acknowledge, at the present day, their reluctance to subscribe to certain articles of faith upon which the church still thinks proper to insist.

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This abridgment of the power and authority of the Romish church, was one of the first effects of the reformation, as thus stated by Mosheim: "The church of Rome lost much of its ancient splendour and majesty, as soon as Luther and the other luminaries of the reformation had exhibited to the view of the European nations the Christian religion restored, at least to a considerable part of its native purity, and delivered from many of the superstitions under which it had lain so long disfigured. Among the most opulent states of Europe, several withdrew entirely from the jurisdiction of Rome; in others, certain provinces threw off the yoke of papal tyranny; and upon the whole, this defection produced a striking diminution both of the wealth and power of the Roman pontiffs. It must also be observed, that even the kings and states who adhered to the religion of Rome, yet changed their sentiments with respect to the claims and pretensions of its bishop. If they were not persuaded by the writings of the protestants to renounce the superstitions of popery, yet they drew from these writings important discoveries of the groundless claims and unlawful usurpations of the Roman pontiffs, and they came at length to perceive, that if the jurisdiction and authority of Rome should continue the same as before the rise of Luther, the rights of temporal princes and the majesty of civil government would sooner or later be absorbed in the gulf of papal avarice and ambition.” Mosh. vol. iv. p. 159.

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The rise of scepticism and infidelity was a consequence to be looked for, among the thinking and more enlightened part of the Romish church, from the exposure of the frauds which had been imposed upon the world in the name of religion. Interpreting the life to signify here, as elsewhere, the life which is in Christ, or the true faith, infidelity is aptly designated by the loss of life on the conversion of the sea into blood.

This spirit, which began to appear in the sixteenth century, openly manifested itself in the seventeenth, and far from having declined since, has continued, especially in catholic countries, to extend its influence up to the present age; which may perhaps, more than any preceding it, be distinguished as the age of unbelief. The leading champions of infidelity in the seventeenth century, were Hobbes, Rochester, Shaftsbury, and Spinoza. In the last century, its progress was promoted by the writings of Voltaire, Diderot, Condorcet, D'Alembert, and a whole host of others; who are not to be considered as the cause of the doctrines they helped to propagate, but as composing part of a sect which must itself be regarded as the natural offspring of the system of fraud and delusion that had so long prevailed. That this sect and its sentiments are not confined to catholic countries, or to those who profess the Romish religion, is a fact which but too clearly denotes, that the seeds which produce them have not been exclusively sown in the Romish church. Wherever religion is employed as the means for obtaining worldly advantages, there the spirit of Antichrist prevails, and the same pernicious consequences may be expected to result from it.

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Of the conduct and maxims of the Jesuits, Mosheim thus speaks: "Did we affirm that they have corrupted and perverted almost every branch and precept of morality, we should not express sufficiently the pernicious tendency of their maxims. Were we to go still farther, and maintain that they have sapped and destroyed its very foundation, we should advance no more than what innumerable writers of the Romish church abundantly testify." Mosheim, vol. v. p. 189.

He thus speaks of the opposition of the Jansenists: "The Jansenists, and all who espoused their cause, distinguished themselves more especially in this opposition. They composed an innumerable multitude of books, in order to cover the sons of Loyola with eternal reproach, and to expose them to the hatred and scorn of the universe. Nor were these productions mere defamatory libels, &c., but were drawn from undeniable facts, and confirmed by unexceptionable testimonies." Mosheim, vol. v. p. 176.

This dissension, as might be expected, contributed to expose the real principles which actuated the see of Rome, and more fully disclosed the fact, that temporal power was its leading object, and religion only a secondary consideration. It consequently tended to increase the growing opposition to its authority, and to accelerate its downfal; although the immediate result of this contest was favourable to the Jesuits, who enjoyed the protection of the Roman pontiff. Such indeed were their power and influence, that Mosheim terms them "the soul of the papal hierarchy, and the mainspring that directs its motions."

What occasioned this violent dissension in the bosom of the church, will be seen from the following statement; which will also show the nature of those moral evils, connived at by the Jesuits, and which the Jansenists in vain strove to remedy.

"But that which offends most the Jesuits, and the other creatures of the pontiff, is the austere severity that reigns in the system of moral discipline and practical religion adopted by the Jansenists. For the members of this sect cry out against the corruptions of the church of Rome, and complain, that neither its doctrines nor morals retain any traces of their former purity. They reproach the clergy with an universal depravation of sentiments and manners, and an entire forgetfulness of the dignity of their character, and the duties of their vocation. They censure the licentiousness of the monastic orders, &c. . . .

"They maintain also, that the people ought to be instructed in all the doctrines and precepts of Christianity, and that for this purpose, the Scriptures and public liturgies should be offered to their perusal in their mother tongue;" &c.— Mosh. vol. v. p. 220.

Such evils (aptly symbolized by poisoning the waters of life), were acknowledged by one part of the Romish church, who lamented and sought to reform them; but whose efforts excited the bitter animosity and successful opposition of another.

The other controversies that disturbed the tranquillity of the Romish church, were but light blasts, says Mosheim, compared with this violent hurricane.

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